Ricochet
by Skylark Starflower
Summary: Michael couldn't live forever. KITT and his new driver talk about how they both miss him.


Authors Note/Disclaimer: I don't own Knight Rider or any of the characters therein, they belong to Glen A. Larson, and I'll love him forever for creating them. Please forgive me for what I do to them. Hee hee. However, Erin Knight is of my own creation. If you'd like to borrow her, please ask permission first, kay?

Well, this actually started out as three separate ideas, but then I got this idea and merged them all together to create this What If/AU type story. Keep in mind I've only really seen the first season of the show and I don't know how the series ended, so I apologize for any mistakes I make there. And in this timeline, the TV movie didn't occur, so KITT is still a black Trans Am and was never sold for parts. With that out of the way, let's continue on, shall we?

"**Ricochet"**

**Started December 13, 2004**

**Finished December 14, 2004**

**Written by Skylark Starflower **

The road silently slipped by, the only sound for miles the hum of KITT's engine and the quiet beeping of his many sensors. The young woman behind the wheel held the black Trans Am steady and in his own lane, seemingly focused intently on the road and her destination. Her hair was a dark brownish red colour and fell to her shoulders in tight curls. Her piercing blue eyes never left the road.

It was in these regards only that Erin Knight resembled her father in looks. Her young face still resembled that of a child: cute but with an edge noticeable if you were to look for it while she was happy, impossible to miss if she were not.

KITT's appearance hadn't changed much over the years. The car still shone like new, raven black and sleek. Sure, he'd picked up some new gadgets and gizmos over the years, but he looked basically the same as when he'd been first built. It was his personality that had changed. He had never been the same since Michael died.

"It's too quiet. How about some music, KITT?"

Without replying, the AI flipped on the radio, filling the car with the familiar sounds of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. One thing KITT and Erin had in common was a similar taste in music.

Erin sighed. Looking for a moment out the driver's side window, she could see the faint tinge of orange on the horizon, indicating dawn was on the way. She and KITT had been driving all night. She hoped they would reach their destination soon, for although KITT's seats were comfortable, she was beginning to get stiff from sitting so long.

"Talk to me, KITT."

"What would you like me to say?" came the response.

"Um, how about an ETA to begin with?"

"At our current rate of speed and if the traffic holds, we should arrive within the next hour."

An uncomfortable silence fell, despite the soft music playing in the background. Erin was the first to break it. "KITT? Why do you hate me?"

"I do not hate you, Erin."

"Well, it certainly seems that way. You're always short with me on missions, and anytime I try to start a conversation, you end it as quick as you can. Why?"

It took a moment before the AI replied, KITT taking his time to formulate his answer. "I am afraid to say that you remind me too much of Michael. It's hard…"

"Because your programming was to protect him?"

"Yes, but that is only part of it. Michael was also my friend."

Erin ran a hand over KITT's dash, the closest she could really come to showing affection to the car. "I'm a bit jealous of you, KITT, you know that?"

"Why is that, Erin?"

"You were with my dad for over ten years. I only had seven years with him before he died. All that time he spent out driving around pulling crazy stunts with you when he could have been home with mom and I…"

KITT said nothing.

"And you, with your advanced computer brain… You'll never forget what he looked like, what he sounded like, how he smiled when he was happy. KITT, I'm already starting to forget. I…I don't want to forget…"

KITT took control as Erin's hands slipped from the wheel, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back her tears. He didn't know what to say, but he felt that something should be said.

"Being able to remember everything you ever see is not as easy, nor as fun, as it may sound. There are many things I have seen and experienced that I would just as soon forget. I remember several occasions where, I admit, I begged Bonnie to delete my memory chip, but it could not be done. I could have lost part of myself. No one wanted to risk that."

Erin scoffed through her tears. "What could you possibly want to forget?"

"There were many occasions when Michael got hurt on our missions. Too many times, I had to come to his rescue as he bled slowly to death. If I could forget the look of suffering I saw on his face countless times…

"And the night he died… Erin, I would gladly risk losing myself if only to delete that terrible memory from my data banks."

Silence fell again, a soft voice from the radio talking quietly about the song that had just played. Neither KITT nor Erin really paid it any attention.

"Sometimes, I am jealous of you, Erin." KITT's voice had been so quiet that Erin almost didn't hear him, but he continued before she could reply. "You had time to get to know your father."

"What are you talking about, KITT? Cars don't have parents."

"Not in the traditional sense, no. The man who created me, Wilton Knight, died only days after I was first activated. I never got to meet the man I owe my existence to."

"I didn't know, KITT."

"It's okay, Erin." The AI paused for a moment. "I have some video footage of Michael that I recorded many years ago, if you would like to see it."

Erin wiped her eyes and smiled. "That would be great, KITT."

One of KITT's dual screens flared to life as an image of a younger Michael Knight appeared. Sound and motion followed soon after. KITT continued to drive as she focused her attention on the film. It became apparent to Erin after a few moments that the footage had come from someone's birthday party. She watched her father interacting with his old friends, Devon and Bonnie, and eventually it became clear to her that the birthday that they were celebrating had been KITT's. She was so absorbed in the footage that she didn't even notice as KITT turned off the main road and made his way into the garage.

Parking in his usual place, the AI remained silent as Erin watched the video to its end. She patted the dashboard again as KITT opened the door for her. "Thanks, KITT."

"Anytime, Erin."

"Night."

She closed the door and headed up the stairs and out of the garage, turning off the lights behind her.

X X X

The red scanner tracking slowly back and forth was the only light in the darkened garage. KITT sat, silently thinking to himself. He could never tell Erin, or anyone else, the secret he'd been keeping for the last sixteen years. He wished he could keep it from himself, as well, but he couldn't block the information.

He'd replayed the same scene several thousand times over the last sixteen years, desperately wishing it would stop, but it never did.

He could see Michael as clearly as if he were there with him. He heard the shot and remembered how it felt as it ricocheted off his bulletproof skin. Michael had stopped running, stunned, before collapsing. The sniper had gotten away as KITT drove over to Michael's side, calling Devon and an ambulance. He had been unable to do anything more than park by his side as Michael lay there. By the time help had arrived, it was too late. Michael had bled to death.

KITT had never told anyone what really happened. He had told Devon merely that Michael had been shot. He didn't know what would have happened to him if they had known it had been his fault Michael had died. The thought made KITT feel miserable. Not only had he failed his friend, he had been directly responsible for the death of the man he had been charged to protect. By all rights, he felt he should have been scrap long ago.

But he would go on. He didn't have a choice. He had Erin to protect now, and he had promised himself that he wouldn't fail her as he had her father.

The scanner light went out as KITT entered standby mode, the closest thing to sleep the AI could achieve, and waited for Erin to return with their next mission.

The End


End file.
